Young golden eagles disappear in mysterious circumstances

Area becoming 'black hole' for the species, expert says after almost a third of tracked birds disappear

Conrad Duncan

Monday 1 July 2019 12:38 

The Independent

Two young golden eagles have disappeared “under suspicious circumstances” within hours of each other on the same Scottish grouse moor, according to wildlife presenter Chris Packham.

The birds were being monitored with satellite tags by Mr Packham and Raptor Persecution UK as part of a study of the movements of young golden eagles in Scotland.

The two eagles, named Adam and Charlie, are said to have vanished from the Auchnafree Estate in the Strathbraan area of Perthshire on 18 April.

They had been wearing satellite tags that inexplicably stopped working and the birds have since been untraceable, Raptor Persecution UK said.

It is illegal to intentionally kill, injure or take any wild bird, with a few exceptions, in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Mr Packham and Raptor Persecution UK said there was no evidence to suggest the Auchnafree Estate was involved in the disappearances.

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Grouse moor regulation needed to end raptor killing, says RSPB Scotland

The charity is questioning whether current wildlife protection legislation is fit for purpose.

Last updated: 14 December 2018 - 12.10am

Conservationists are calling for tougher regulation of grouse moors to end the persecution of Scotland’s raptors.

RSPB Scotland has published a new report which it said details the clear associations between the decline or absence of these birds in some areas and intensive grouse moor management and wildlife crime, and is calling for action to tackle the issue.

The study, titled The Illegal Killing Of Birds Of Prey In Scotland 2015-17, found that the vast majority of raptor persecution incidents are occurring in areas of Scotland’s uplands managed for intensive driven grouse shooting.

Over that three-year period there were 38 confirmed, detected incidents of illegal killing of protected birds of prey, including shooting, trapping, illegal poisoning and nest destruction; however, the report suggests the crimes being recorded are a fraction of what is actually taking place.

Intensive grouse moor management is having a disproportionate impact on our important upland ecosystems and specially protected birds

Duncan Orr-Ewing, RSPB Scotland

Meanwhile, during those three years, five satellite-tagged hen harriers and eight satellite-tagged golden eagles “disappeared”, with 11 of those 13 incidents occurring on land managed for driven grouse shooting, the charity said.

The RSPB questions whether current wildlife protection legislation is fit for purpose and recommends that driven grouse shooting estates should be licensed, with the right to shoot dependent on “legal, sustainable management practices”.

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RSPB disappointed with outcome of case, but defence says gamekeeper was demonised

A GAMEKEEPER on an expensive shooting estate has been fined after admitting setting a trap which could injure wild birds.

Harrogate Magistrates Court heard the RSPB and two expert witnesses were convinced Ryan Waite, who maintained the Swinton estate 10,000-acre grouse moor in the Yorkshire Dales, had intended to target birds of prey.

RSPB investigators covertly filmed Waite, of Healey, near Ripon, resetting a spring-loaded pole trap on top of a six foot tree stump in June last year.

Kim Coley, prosecuting, said Waite was also filmed removing the trap when officials visited the area over a separate matter.

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